It's a great kitsch idea 8) but if they were originally intended for fags, then the inside bottom is the wrong shape to allow them to actually fan out properly. It would have to reflect the shape at the top IMHO, otherwise they would all be squashed up inside. :oops:

David & Anne — the oval cigarettes are instantly recognisable as Passing Clouds by W.D. & H.O. Wills, the only oval cigarrette, and the only one sold in a pink packet or box. Very much a fashionable lady's accessory. See this 1956 advertisment (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180019790341&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D180019790341%26fvi%3D1).

Bernard C. 8)

Title: A use for Fan Vases (or Fag Vases?) :-)
Post by: David E on August 23, 2006, 07:32:16 PM

Ah, thanks for that! I actually collected cigarette packets when I was a nifter and I distinctly remember the pink Passing Clouds pack - never knew they were oval though :) :shock:

David & Anne — the oval cigarettes are instantly recognisable as Passing Clouds by W.D. & H.O. Wills, the only oval cigarrette, and the only one sold in a pink packet or box. Very much a fashionable lady's accessory. See this 1956 advertisment (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180019790341&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D180019790341%26fvi%3D1).

Bernard C. 8)

Not the only ones, Turkish and "oriental" cigarettes were also oval, very popular in pre-war Germany, disgusting smelly things that they were.....

Ah, thanks for that! I actually collected cigarette packets when I was a nifter and I distinctly remember the pink Passing Clouds pack - never knew they were oval though ...

I collected almost anything in childhood, except boxes, which I put things in. I had one of the pink 100s boxes — I can't remember what was in it, postage dues on piece, marbles, Meccano gears, or Bayko rods, perhaps.

Better stop now, or I will start reminiscing about marble runs.

Bernard C. 8)

Title: A use for Fan Vases (or Fag Vases?) :-)
Post by: David E on August 24, 2006, 07:35:40 AM

I reckon collectors are born with a particular gene — whether it's faulty or not, I'd prefer not to speculate :lol:

Now, cannabis is supposed to be beneficial for asthmatics....At £31.00 per packet, I'll give up smoking and try this wonder illness management solution, now pass me some skins..... oooops tobacco is so dear, we'll have to take the medication neat...Sorry, but a nonsense.Take control of your lives, people, before the control freaks realise their ambitions.....Here in France, yesterday the government announced an anti-charbon tax, ie anti-coal tax. Oh good said the greens, not realising that the last coal-mine here ended production in 2004, so who is paying the tax??? No-one.Sadly, if this continues, then very little glass will be made, and very little will be affordable, art glass makers will be exterminated, for polluting....etc....Target the real problem, the US, and emergent industrial economies such as China....Otherwise, nothing gets made, nothing sustains our physical needs, and we will have to eradicate our demand.Somewhat contentiously,MarcusPS (Cafe here we come)

Marcus — I love it when you wax lyrical. I never have a clue what you are talking about, nor do I follow your line of reasoning. Many of your words are beyond me. I have never heard of those you cite, nor of their quotations.

But I will defend to my last breath your right to free speech. The world would be a poorer place without it. Please get your soapbox out more often.

You remind me of Henry Burton. Are you a descendant (possible, as they only cut his ears off)?

Later ... I think is is widely accepted that American English is much closer to that spoken by the likes of Shakespeare and Burton than our own. One group from the 1607 Jamestown settlers founded a small colony on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay. Being an island community, their language has changed significantly less than that of the mainland, and their language is regarded as the closest today to that of Shakespeare. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear them reading one of Burton's hell, fire and damnation attacks on Laud's pompous pronouncements.